What is depression?

Major depression is a medical condition and is defined as a depressed state of mood on a daily basis for a minimum duration of 2 weeks.

An episode is characterized by:

• Sadness
• Indifference
• Apathy or Irritation
• Associated with: Change in sleep pattern
• Appetite
• Weight gain / loss
• Impaired concentration
• Unable to make decisions etc.

A person with depression has a profound loss of pleasure in all the enjoyable activities, exhibit early awakening, feel that dysphoric mood, change in diurnal mood (worse in morning hours.)

 

PREVALENCE:

• Most common condition
• Mainly occur in Adolescent and in Adult woman.
• Between 15-20 out of 100 (15%-20%) experiences an episode of major depression at some point of their life.

 

COURSE OF ILLNESS:

Average age is mid 20’s.

Major depression can occur at anytime in life.

It can be a single episode or may reoccur over a person’s lifetime.

 

Causes:

Depression is multifactorial. There are few listed down below⬇️

 

✔ Some diseases or medication may cause depression.

✔Traumatic childhood or adult life events may act as a trigger. Childhood trauma like death or separation of parents. Adult life events may include divorce, loss of loved ones, severe financial problems, family conflict, loss of job, retirement etc.

✔Family history: Person has slightly higher chance of going into depression but it is not necessary.

✔Some neurotransmitter (brain chemicals) imbalance may trigger the onset of depression. ⬇️

▪️Serotonin helps to regulate sleep, appetite, mood and inhibit pains. Low Serotonin levels are found in a depressed person.

▪️Nor-epinephrine: constrict blood vessels, raising blood pressure. It may trigger anxiety and may involved in depression.

✔Psychological vulnerability to depression. Person who has low self-esteem, tend to worry a lot etc.

 

Treatment:

✔Homoeopathy helps a patient with their mental state by treating patient as a whole.

• Homoeopath understands the root cause of your disease and treat the patient holistically.

✔Eating healthy & Natural Food helps to increase the level of neurotransmitters whilst junk food decreases their levels. Mindful eating and eating on time is important.

✔Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: CBT is a blend of two therapies: cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. Cognitive therapy focuses on a person’s thoughts and beliefs, and how they influence a person’s mood and actions, and aims to change a person’s thinking to be more adaptive and healthy. Behavioral therapy focuses on a person’s actions and aims to change unhealthy behavior patterns.

✔Family Psychoeducation: Good treatment in the family can play an important role to help both the person with depression and his or her relatives.

 

▪️Tips:

• During this lockdown many people are facing depression. What a person can do is engage themselves in some activity.
• Stop thinking too much.
• Art therapy helps too.

 

By Dr. Maryam Shaikh (BHMS)

Holistic Homoeocare.

Mumbai, India